The Special Hazard Exorcism Unit are mostly active at night, thus few of its members are around in the day. Day shifts usually consists of dealing with minor crimes, responding to calls and lots of paperwork.

Xiaoye yawned as she emerged from the meeting room, now dressed more professionally in full police uniform, adjusting her protection vest as she headed straight for the armoury to get her equipment. She had hoped that Bradley would give her light duties as promised, but at the same time, she was a bit wary about his plans. When the Shades was first formed, Bradley was one of its original twelve members, and when Xiaoye was released from prison with all her charges dropped following a deal to replace a deceased officer, Bradley became her first partner.

It was this fact that makes Xiaoye able to figure out his thoughts and actions, but if anything, Bradley can be quite sneaky if he has to. To top things off, he was well-versed in the use of magical tools and defence despite not possessing any magic himself, and once knocked out a scryer trying to read his mind with a mental barrier made of cat videos, old films from the early 2000s and, of all things, an image of himself in the nude. Xiaoye never figured out if the last one was true or Bradley was just jesting.

“Aw, man! She’s in uniform today!”

“Yeah, wish I could see her in that smoking biker outfit again…”

“Quiet, you idiots! You want her father to show up at the station again?”

Xiaoye grimaced at the last whisper she heard from the passing male officers. A few years ago, a newly-promoted superintendent who was extremely bigoted towards half-humans had tried to get her fired, threatening to slip silver into her food unless she goes back to jail and complete her sentence (all charges having already been dropped by then). Unfortunately for this superintendent, Xiaoye’s father had his familiars keeping an eye out for her, and the moment he saw that she was being threatened, he straight up manifested inside the superintendent’s office despite the religious defence surrounding the building. Xiaoye did not know what her father did, only that the superintendent crawled out his office with his hair turned white and a letter of resignation in his hands. She recalled someone mentioning that the bigot only got his job because he was the only one available, and that he would have been replaced after a few months or when the higher-ups obtained proof of his bad behaviour.

“Sorry, Sergeant Di?”

That was a new voice. She has never heard it before. Turning around, Xiaoye found herself staring at a young Caucasian male with light brown hair and green eyes who stood a foot taller than her. Judging from his appearance, he was probably no older than twenty-four.

“Hi, I’m Roderick Harper, Formerly from Traffic. I just transferred to the Shades, and AC Bradley said I’m to be your new trainee.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, I was supposed to be under Sergeant Daris, but apparently there was a change of plans. I’m sorry if you’re confused and all, I also only just found out.”

Xiaoye sighed. So this was Bradley’s plan all along. She’s never trained a newcomer before, but at least this fellow was polite. She’ll just have to go with the flow. After all, it would be more problematic if she brings it up with Bradley. He’ll just play dumb, not to mention that reality is not a television drama.

“All right, fine, since you’re stuck with me now, might as well make it worth. C’mon, to the armoury with you. Need to get you used to the firearms we use.”

Xiaoye could see how surprised Roderick was once the pair had collected their equipment. Fantasy books are nothing compared to seeing a mystical dagger designed for slaying trolls or a special bullet that can hurt a ghost with one’s own eyes. Of course, those equipment are for emergency use only, thus Xiaoye and Roderick got the usual standard issues instead.

“See this retractable baton? Looks like the ones you used to use, but the tips, they’ve got silver around it to put the hurt on things like myself. Then you got the normal stuff like tasers, cuffs, one shotgun, one assault rifle, zip ties, the shit we use for traffic stops and crime scenes…”

“What’s with this pistol?”

Xiaoye saw Roderick inspecting the pistol issued to the two. No doubt the weight and size of it was what caught his attention.

“ST-C Kingfisher M2, local made. Weights 915 grams and measures 240 millimetres with a 128 millimetre barrel. Utilizes .45 ACP rounds in 10-round magazines. You’ll need to check your magazine before using it, though. In the day, the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit is just another patrol division, so always load normal rounds unless otherwise stated. The silver ones can cost you a kidney, figuratively and literally,” Xiaoye explained to her new trainee.

“It’s really different from the Bee-eaters.”

“Well, personally, I prefer the Bee-eater M4, but we kind of need the extra stopping power given the kind of daft cunts our unit deals with on a daily basis. C’mon, time to get our motor.”

“Motor?”

“Vehicle.”

“Oh, okay. Hey, you want me to carry that for you?”

“Hey, you’re my first rookie, I’m not going to make you carry all the stuff unless you screw up. Remember that when it’s your time to teach a rookie, and don’t be like that wanker over there. Big, tough bloke making his rookie carry everything. Some orc, eh?” Xiaoye said as she gestured at an orc officer at the other side of the armoury who was making a female rookie carry all the equipment.

“If you say so.”

“Were you at the morning briefing?”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“Drop that greet-by-rank thing, I’m not so picky about it. Just call me by name.”

“Yes, Ser- I mean, Xiaoye. Man, this feels strange.”

“Oh, it’s going to get a whole lot stranger the longer you stay with the Shades. There’s a damn good reason why all human officers joining the Shades have to undergo harsh military training with the commandos before they even start their first day. Now, back to my question. Do you know which division we are helping to patrol today?”

“Er, since I’m with you… We’re assisting L Division?”

“Ah ha! Someone’s not been paying attention! We’re still here, at A. Now you get to carry my bag of shit,” Xiaoye declared with a laugh as she handed her bag to Roderick, who looked rather embarrassed about the whole thing and grunted as he gets weighed down by the extra load.

“You know, there was a time where the SPF did not have to take so much items with them before they head out for their duties,” she continued as she and Roderick head to the elevator.

“Really?”

“Aye, before the Third World War. Pistol, baton, taser, handcuff, other required accessories on their uniforms and off they go. Everything changed post-war. Local gangs got Americanized, drug and arms smugglers got bolder and deadlier, and now every motor of the Singapore Police have to be armoured up and loaded with a shotgun and an assault rifle. Fucked-up world we live in now when even the top ten safest countries in the world have to gear their police officers up like soldiers. Damn, I miss the early half of this century.”

The garage of the Shades was not exactly as big as Roderick must have thought, for he looked somewhat unimpressed at the sight of the black vehicles with green siren lights all packed together in a cramped underground lot. Xiaoye did not care, though, as she made a beeline for a hatchback.

“Come here, we’re loading up our motor. Stuff the big guns in them slots here, arrange everything neatly and all. You don’t want to have police tape wrapped around your shotgun when you need it the most…”

“Serg- I mean, Xiaoye, why do you have a Scottish accent? I mean, you’re Chinese and…”

Xiaoye knew that Roderick meant no offence, but she could not help feeling a bit insulted by the question and also at the fact that Roderick did not have the common sense to figure out the obvious answer.

“Because I was born in Glasgow nearly a century ago? If a Malay guy has a very pronounced Aussie accent, it obviously means he grew up there. Wah, you think because Singapore, everyone talk Singlish ah? Don’t ask such stupid questions next time. Besides, fake accents are very easy to spot.”

“Yeah, my bad. That was quite rude of me.”

“How old are you, Roderick?”

“Twenty-two?”

“Well then, you still have a lot to learn.”

Half an hour later, the two were cruising along Stamford Road, looking for signs of trouble which Xiaoye told Roderick to ignore unless they radio for assistance or a crime was in progress. During that time, Xiaoye, wondering how else should she train a new officer of the Shades who has already been on the force for four years, decides to see how much Roderick knows about the Shades.

“Remember our callsign?”

“Sierra-3-10.”

“Good. You’ve probably heard dispatch calling for any available Sierras during your time with TP, right?”

“Yeah.”

“When other officers are requesting for Sierra, it means they want a Shade on the scene. You’re in the Shades now, so this time, you have to respond.”

“Understood.”

“Next question: What are the three arms of the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit?”

“Investigation arm, counter-magic arm and patrol arm.”

“Someone’s been studying. What kind of ammunitions are used by our unit?”

“Normal bullets and silver?”

“Go on.”

Roderick suddenly looked stumped as he tried to figure out what other ammunition does the Shades use. Xiaoye grinned as she continued to drive down the road.

“Fae steel?”

“Good answer, Roderick. We use four kinds of ammunition, actually. We’re usually issued normal and silver rounds, but depending on the situation, cold iron and fae steel are sometimes issued instead. Cold iron for the fae and fae steel for creatures immune to silver rounds. Now, how are our silver rounds made?”

“If I’m not wrong, the silver is soaked in holy water for a week, then blessed by the ten religions of Singapore before being made into bullets?”

“Ha! Looks like I’m buying you coffee later,” Xiaoye said, somewhat pleased to see that her new rookie knew enough for her to not be worried should Bradley decide to launch a surprise quiz on him.

“So I got them all mostly correct?”

“There’s still a lot more you need to learn, but you’ve got the first part of your basic covered so I’ll give you that. The longer you’re with the Shades, the more extra information you’ll need to study, like how to identify vampires, what to do during a werewolf attack, negotiating with pontianaks and langsuirs so they don’t rip your guts out. Then there’s also demons.”

“Demons? Wait, we have to deal with demons?”

“Not really, more like dealing with their offspring. The ones like myself. Two years ago, a cambion tried to hold up a bank when he went into a Rampage. Five Shades lost their lives.”

“I read about that incident. Sounds like that cambion got desperate.”

“No. He lost control of his demonic half. That’s called a Rampage. It’s the reason I wear this around my neck,” Xiaoye explained as she pulled her collar down to reveal a black choker with runes engraved all over it.

“Woah, is that- Is that a Prayer Shackle?”

“So you’ve heard of these things. Aye, it’s a Prayer Shackle. I can’t take it off, have to bath with it and sleep with it. This one requires either a passage from the Bible or a specific line from the Buddhist sutras. All cambions in Singapore are legally required to wear a Prayer Shackle. Failure to do so and the Shades come after your arse.”

As Roderick grimly nodded at the predicament Xiaoye has to go through, the radio came to life.

“Any available Sierra near Chinatown, please be advised, dispute currently in progress near Trengganu Street. Parties involved described as Chinese-looking goblins. Officers already on the scene are requesting back-up.”

“Ah, shit, sounds like wangliangs. This is Sierra-3-10, we’re on our way, over.”

“Wangliangs?”

“Like the dispatcher said, Chinese goblins. They’re a daily problem for CNB and Customs except for the ones in Chinatown which the Secret Societies Branch have to contend with.”

“So they’re like the Triads of the fae kind?”

“Something like that. C’mon, let’s go back up those officers, in case that dispute turns out to be between rival gangs.”